de brame



UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

J. A. DE BRAME, OF NEVV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND BENJ.GURNEY.

SKATE.

Specication of Letters Patent No. 32,024, dated April 9, 1861.

To all whom it `'may concern:

Be it known that I, J. A. DE BRAME, of 707 Broadway, in the city andcounty of New York and State of New York, have invented a new andImproved Method of Attaching Skate-Irons to the Soles of Boots andShoes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, andexact descrip-` tion thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, making a partofV this specification, in which- Figure 1, is alongitudinal vertical section through a boot, and also'through the skateiron fastenings of my improved skate. Fig. 2, is a bottom-view of thesole of a boot having my improved skate attached to it.

Similar letters of reference indicate cor-V responding parts in bot-hfigures.

This invention relates to a novel means for attaching (and detaching)skate irons directly, to the soles of boots, whereby straps, and theobjections attending their use are obviated, the skates are made muchlighter and more compact and portable and can be readily put on andtaken oif.

The object of my invention and improvement in skates is principally toobviate the necessity of cutting away the leather of the boots, and thusimpairing them as is done with skates which have hitherto been applieddirectly to the soles of the boots; and also to obtain a firmerattachment of the skate iron at the heel of the boot as well as at thesole thereof, than hitherto, at the same time to prevent the liabilityof tearing off the heel of the boot, and the straining of the feet inusing the skates.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings A, represents the skate iron or runner ofthe skate, which may be made of any desirable shape, B, is a strongmetal stud which is secured to the iron A, by screws or rivets, and C,is a horizontal plate which forms a part of the stud B. This plate C, isthe bearing portion for the ball or front part of the foot, and it maybe made as wide or as narrow as desirable. One or more strong hooks a,are cast with or properly secured to the top surface of the sole plateC, and the hook, or hooks', as the case may be are turned back ward ortoward the heel part of the runner A, and not forward as hitherto. Nearthe rear end of the runner A, another stud D, and

plate D1, is secured by rivets or screws and this latter plate D1 ismade suiiciently large to give a firm bearing for the heel of the bootwhich rests on it as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings; and on therear end and in the middle of heel plate D1, a square block is riveted,or this block may be cast with the heel plate. In the center of heelplate D1, is fiXed a pin c, which projects up'perpendicularly from thisheel plate some distance, and if desirable its upper end may be pointed.To the flat surface of the block, or eni lai-ged heel portion 5, thelower end of a strong spring plate d, is riveted. This spring d,projects upward a suitable distance and has a hooked latch piece e,formed on its end, the upper surface vof which maybe beveled downwardlike the nose `of a door latch; on the opposite side or outside of thisspring d, a small knob or thumb piece g, is secured.

This gives a description of the skate iron .j

and the parts which are secured to the skate' iron, which parts-therebeing only threeg can be made strong and light, and at the same timefinished up very handsomely with little labor, as the castings C, and D,are very plain and have no joints or parts which require to be fittednicely together, and if metal foot pieces are objectionable the partsmay be made of good solid wood.

A thin metal plate G, having slots cut through it-'to receive the hook,or hooks, a, on the plate C, is secured to the sole of the boot at asuitable point under the ball of the foot.

y This slotted plate G, may be let into the sole of the boot flush withthe surface thereof, or it may be screwed on the outside of the sole andsurrounded with a piece of leather to protect it from rapid wear, if theboots are used for walking purposes. The slot, or slots in plate G, aremade in a direction vwith the length of the boot, and large enough toadmit the hook, or hooks a, as shown in Fig. l of the drawings, so thatthe hooks will catch on the upper side of the front edge of the slot.

A plate or narrow piece of metal II, is

screwed to the bottom of the heel of the boot.

This piece I-I, is carried up the back part of the heel of the boot aswell as under the heel. It may be a very thin piece of metal as it isused to protect the leather as well as to strengthen the heel. At asuitable point in that portion of plate H, which is under the heel ofthe boot, a hole L, is made through the plate I-I, and into the heel ofthe boot some distance, to receive the vertical heel spur C; anotherhole z', is made in the back part of the heel plate H, for receiving thelatch pin e, on spring plate el. y

The operation of my invention is as follows: The hooks a, are insertedinto the slots in plate Gr, and secured therein by drawing the skateiron backward toward the heel of the boot. This will allow the pin c, tobe introduced into the hole la.; now the skate iron can be secured bysimply stamping the foot, which operation forces the spring d, outward,and causes the latch e, to hook into the hole z', in the back of theheel of the boot. The skate iron will now be attached firmly to theboot, as the `hook a, will prevent a backward as well as a lateralmotion at the ball of the foot, the heel pin 0, will prevent any lateralor any forward movement of the skate iron at the heel of the boot andthe spring latch d, e, will keep the heel of the skate up to the heel ofthe boot, the hooks a, heel spur 0, and spring latch d, e, willconjointly prevent any loose movement of the skate iron on the boot, andform a rigid fastening which will not be liable to strain the leather.

The advantages obtained in the combination of the spur c, with the hooksa, is that while the spur prevents strain on the lowermost part of theheel of the boot, it serves to keep the hooks a, in place in theirslots, and then again the use of the spur c, in conjunction with thehook fastening, obviates the tenon and groove joints hitherto used,which are objectional on account of their filling up with ice, dirtetc., and wearing loose when used several times.

The downward pressure of the arch of the foot on the sole of the boot inskating spreads, or lengthens the foot and where a hook is used whichhooks forward or in a direction with this longitudinal spreading of theboot, the hook is very liable to spring out lof its groove, such a hookis however found to be insecure from this cause, as it is constantlyworking loose, but where vthe hook is turned in the opposite directionthe spreading out of the foot is in a great measure prevented, and thefoot is therefore well supported and not liable to be strained, and theperson will feel no unpleasant sensation from using the skates.

I am aware that hooked fastenings for the front parts of skates havebeen used in combination with tongue and groove and latch fastenings forthe heel parts of skates as in the Patent No. 26,540, and Ido not claimsuch as my invention, but,

Vhat I do claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,

l. The hook, or hooks a, turned backward as described and shown in Fig.l of the drawings, in combination with t-he heel spur or spurs c,fitting loosely into a hole made in the heel of the boot, for thepurpose of retaining the hook a in its plate, as herein set forth.

2. Combining with the hook a, and heel spur c, the spring latch cl, e,when the latter is arranged on the back part of the heel of the boot andcatches into a recess in said heel as herein set forth.

J. A. DE BRAME.

Witnesses:

M. M. LIVINGSTON, LEWIS A. TUCKER.

